TMO Quick Tip - Monitor Web Sites From Your Menu Bar

by , 7:30 AM EDT, June 25th, 2007

RSS feeds are great because they push news from different Web sites to you, but what if you just need to know if a Web site has changed, or maybe even watch a file on your own hard drive for changes? That's exactly what Changes Meter can do for you.

Changes Meter is a menu bar item that lets you track specific Web sites, remote files, local files, and local folders for changes. You can add or remove items whenever you like, and set how often it checks the items on your list for updates.

Checking Web sites for changes with Changes Meter.

The items you monitor all show up in the Changes Meter menu along with color-coded labels that identify what has changed, and what hasn't. A green bullet lets you know an item has changed, blue means the item hasn't changed since the last check, and red means the item is no longer available.

I loaded Changes Meter with several Web sites that I want to make sure are always online. Should one go down, I'll see a red indicator in the Changes Meter menu bar icon, and clicking the icon will tell me exactly which site is down. Once I know which site is offline, I can start checking to find out what happened to the Web sever the site is hosted on.

I also added the Drop Box folder from my Home directory on my MacBook Pro. Now any time someone drops me a file, I'll know without having to go and check.

Changes Meter is available for download at the intuiware Web site. It is donationware, so don't forget to pay what you think it is worth.

Jeff Gamet is TMO's Morning Editor and Reviews Editor. He lectures, teaches and speaks on Mac OS X and design-related topics, and is the author of The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X from Peachpit Press.

if you have tips or tricks to share, or Mac-related questions you want answered.